Disney, Warner Bros., and Fox, who are three of the top owners of streaming and broadcast sports rights, have announced they are teaming up for a new major sports streaming platform that would provide a singlular location to watch their sports feeds.
The Details
The announcement from the three companies said the venture will feature the NFL and other major professional sports leagues, plus tennis grand slams, combat sports, and college games.
Made available directly to consumers via a separate app, the new service will also be able to be bundled with Disney+, Hulu, and/or Warner Bros.’ streamer Max.
The new standalone service is slated to debut this fall, with subscribers having access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, Fox, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV and ESPN+.
That would let subscribers watch live NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football and NCAA March Madness basketball, the FIFA World Cup, three of the four Grand Slam tennis events, the UFC, Formula 1, and NASCAR.
The app’s name and pricing are still to be determined.
“The launch of this new streaming sports service is a significant moment for Disney and ESPN, a major win for sports fans, and an important step forward for the media business,” Iger said in the statement.
“This means the full suite of ESPN channels will be available to consumers alongside the sports programming of other industry leaders as part of a differentiated sports-centric service. I’m grateful to Jimmy Pitaro and the team at ESPN, who are at the forefront of innovating on behalf of consumers to create new offerings with more choice and greater value.”
The three companies will each own one-third of the new venture, which will have its own brand and independent management team.
What do you think? If you’re a sports fan, would you sign up for this service, and what do you think is a fair monthly price for this content? Let us know in the comments.